From the song Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat from the Bollywood movie Sharmilee

“Rooth gaye re sapne saare

Toot gayi re aasha

Nain bahe re Ganga more

Phir bhi man hai pyasa”

All my dreams have turned to dust, all hopes smashed

Tears flow like the Ganges river but my heart is still yearning….

From another popular composition in Patdeep

“Mai tore sang Na Jabu

Piyarwa Dheet Langwarwa

Humri tumhi sang nah bane re

Raat rahe tum sautan dhingwa”

I will not go with you, you stubborn fellow

You and I will not get along, as you spend nights with my rival.

These emotions illustrate the nature of the deeply sensitive raga Patdeep (Patdip). In the South Indian (or Carnatic) tradition, Patdip loosely corresponds to the Ragam Gowrimanohari

In Hindustani romantic ragas, love is inexorably tied with separation – whether it is from a sweetheart or a Spiritual Being. The yearning to be united can be interpreted as the soul wanting to break free of this mortal existence, to find its true destiny as much as a standard romantic involvement between two people.

For musicians, it is very important to have a set of feelings and mental image of the raag. As we know, ragas have personalities, and exploring a raga is like meeting a person of that name and getting to know them better – and then unfolding that conversation to the audience in a performance.

Here I describe the images conjured up by Patdeep – two different interpretations

The first one is the solitary monologue of Patdeep:

It is afternoon on the steps of the Ganga in Varanasi- hot but tolerable- the ghats are all deserted, the boats moored to them, gently bumping into each other. Patdeep sits on the step facing the ganga and tells the story of love and loss. This is no hysterical or dejected love- it is a gentle acceptance that the tender moments shared earlier have come to pass and it is very likely that this gentle ache of separation is here to stay. Patdeep describes the history of the relationship first – a story of caring tenderness.

With the history of the relationship covered, the tone next become plaintive in nature, the movements become long drawn and the notes go into the higher octave. The sarod really shines in this area as it carries the emotion of the lower notes while brings out the soul crying out in yearning in the higher notes. It allows the space of silence for the emotion to sink in – before spreading the melody and conversation further.

Then comes reconciliation and surrender – an acknowledgement of the past, the present and coming to terms with the situation

The conversation with Patdeep is complete from this point of view. I choose to play Patdeep with this personality in mind.

The second interpretation of a lover’s tiff, as shown in the popular composition above – (Mai Tore sang nah jabu) – while the theme of romance runs through it, the conversation becomes one of romantic tension as the object of the love is around, as opposed to the more austere first version.

Patdeep in this interpretation is more conversational and not a monologue. The beloved is within reach – and can hear the raga. The tension is still there but it is not one of forlorn sadness.

Examples: I present here a raw video recording of my performance at Sangeet Mela Brisbane in September 2017 with Shri Simranjit Singh on the tabla

Technical Information

As always, I keep technical information away from the Raga description, as this is only relevant to those who actually want to play the raga. And too much technical input destroys the emotional appeal of the raga turning it into

Origin/Classification

Patdeep is seen as hailing from the Thaat of Kafi, that huge mega-raga and the base raga for a wide spectrum of ragas ranging from the sweet to the serious (e.g. the Malhar rain ragas)

Notes

Ascending: Aaroh

N (lower) S g M P N S(Upper)

Descending:Avroh

S (upper) N D P M g R S

lower case= komal swara

Pilu, Patdeep and Bhimpalasi – all afternoon ragas with similar moods -have similar notes. In Patdeep the melodic line is singular and cannot be deviated from, irrespective of interpretation.

Patdeep uses the shuddha ni (Ni) to delineate itself from other ragas, and this is also its most used swara after Pa.

Many texts mention Pa as the Vadi (most used note) and some mention Ni. well, yes, Pa is used a fair bit and more than Ni

Thematic variations

Unlike Pilu, Patdeep cannot be host to other notes than itself. This presents a challenge to the player in terms of maintaining freshness of melody without repetition. I have take a small liberty with Patdeep by beginning a phrase with g P, which is strictly a violation of the raga theme. I do this only once, and is inspired by a sarangi lehra that I once heard which had this phrase in it.

The phrase N N S(upper) D P, if repeated, gives the impression of a question being answered,a return to the base theme. Can be used depending on the scenario.